Gilles Simon was one of many supremely talented tennis stars plagued by the era they were born into.
After all, had it not been for the Big Three, there’s reason to believe that the Frenchman would’ve enjoyed a career laden with far more trophies than the 14 he won whilst active on the ATP Tour.
Alas, speaking exclusively to Tennishead, he has insisted that this does not bother him, whilst promoting the upcoming Roland Garros eSeries competition, by Renault.
In fact, Simon is actually glad to have had the honour to have played and beaten all of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and discussed what made them so special whilst also looking ahead to the future.
Gilles Simon shares what it was like to play against the Big Three
“They were all very special and all very unique,” he began, describing this legendary trio like ‘movie characters’, each with their own personality, play style and appeal.
However, despite their obvious talents, having won a combined total of 66 Grand Slam titles between them, Simon enjoyed wins over each of them, relishing the opportunity to face the greatest players of all time, even if the head-to-head was never in his favour.
He argued: “As a player, to play against them was fantastic because I like to have the biggest challenge.
Novak Djokovic is the tennis GOAT… Prove us wrong
“Okay, maybe it’s not smart because then you can have a better career. You know, if they are not there, you win more titles, more big titles, whatever, but also, I think for every athlete and no matter only if you are a tennis player or whatever, to have the chance to play against the best players we have ever seen, and maybe we’re gonna see even better players after that, but at that time, having the chance to confront them, and in the end, to beat them, okay, maybe only once or twice each, but that’s how it is. You lost 10 times or 12 times, but you win once at least. It’s you feeling that you have achieved something special, something special, you know?”
Simon concluded with a particularly bold claim, suggesting that beating one of Nadal, Federer, or Djokovic was actually more significant than winning a title.
The 41-year-old admitted: “So, obviously not the same as winning a major, but sometimes [the same] as winning a title. You know, I won 14 titles on tour, and I didn’t beat them 14 times.
“So maybe it was even each victory against them was maybe even harder to achieve than winning a title, you know, on tour. Not every title, of course, but that’s how hard it was to beat them.”
It’s clear that this trio were a level above the rest of the chasing pack throughout their careers, but just a few years ago, Martina Navratilova named her tennis GOAT, and it was not any of the three aforementioned.
Carlos Alcaraz compared to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
Naturally, it only felt right to then quiz Simon how he felt the Big Three compared to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, having retired from tennis just as this New Two were bursting onto the scene.
Asked whether he felt they could challenge the legacy forged by the Big Three, the former coach of Daniil Medvedev admitted that it was possible, but reliant on a few things going their way.
Simon claimed: “It’s very possible for different reasons. because you have to be very good, obviously, and they are. You also need a bit of luck, depending on when you compete, against who, how many players.
“Are there two players that are going to join them on the same level, three, four, five or not, or zero?”
Naturally, fitness was a crucial component, as Simon added: “Sometimes your body. Of course, there is a part where you have to be a professional and do your best to play until you are 35 and whatever, but sometimes it’s just genetics. You know, sometimes you have something terrible happening, and then it’s over.
“Because you need to play it for 15 years at least, if you want to get 25 Slams or whatever, it takes time.
“So that’s why I say it’s the motivation, you have to keep it, then they’re gonna have a wife, and maybe you have the kids and see how it is. You know, it’s a long way. That’s what I’m saying. It’s a long way.”
Who do you think will retire with more Grand Slam titles?
Alas, despite the many potential roadblocks, he remains confident in Alcaraz and Sinner’s capabilities: “So when you see it from now and especially from Carlos’ point of view, he’s young, he has already a lot of records going there, and you can see the way, but it’s long, and you never know what’s gonna happen.
“So I think he can, obviously and maybe Jannik also. But depending on all the factors that I gave earlier.”
Alcaraz and Sinner are currently battling for the world number one spot, and it could change hands this week if results go the latter’s way.
Gilles Simon discusses Roland Garros eSeries with bumper prize
The bulk of this interview was conducted in service of Simon’s ambassadorial position with Roland Garros, a tournament that he unsurprisingly holds close to his heart.
And, in a rather fortunate turn of events, the continued progression of their eSeries event made perfect sense for a retired player who is a self-confessed lover of video games.
Fusing his two great passions together, this event is set to boast over 500,000 participants, all competing on the mobile game Tennis Clash for a chance to play in the live final, held in the Roland Garros auditorium.
The winner will get an all-expenses-paid trip to Paris to play at Roland-Garros Stadium on May 25th, for a prize pool of 5,000 Euros.
Discussing this unique reward, Simon admitted: It’s great because it’s a special prize, really a special prize. It’s something you can’t buy, not only in most of the time, it’s about money or trophy or whatever, but coming to the French Open, be there in the auditorium, be a guest, enjoy like all the atmosphere around is kind of unique, you know, and it’s and I like this, and I like it a lot.”
He was also particularly enthusiastic about how initiatives like this would only help to grow tennis, attracting new audiences to the sport.
Referring to the 500,000 participants, Simon added: “It’s getting bigger every year. And I was not surprised because, again, I play a lot of video games, so I know, I can recognise when it’s a nice game.
“Maybe I was the first one to download, for example, I don’t know, Clash of Clans. And you can see directly that, okay, this game is gonna work, you know? Because you play a lot, you experience a lot of games from different platforms, different cultures also, because starting long ago was there, for me, very important, the Japanese side of the video games, because it’s where it started and the United States and Europe.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
“So I can recognise, and Tennis Clash was very addictive, so I was sure it’s easy to download, easy to play. No stress. Like, yeah, for sure it will work.”
A lover of tennis and video games, Simon’s enthusiasm for this cause was evident, as he waxed lyrical about Tennis Clash and all the good work that Roland Garros are doing to promote new opportunities just like this one.
